How Netflix ‘The Crown’ Is Poaching From ‘Downton Abbey’ Once Again For Season Two

Now that Downton Abbey has wrapped up, the Netflix series The Crown has taken its place as the favorite costume drama. So with just so many British actors, is it surprising that The Crown is poaching some of the talent (and characters) from Downton Abbey? In the last season of Downton Abbey, the widowed Lady Mary finally finds love again with Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode), who will also be playing Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon, the husband of Princess Margaret.

The First Earl of Snowdon, born Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, recently passed away at the age of 86, but the name will be more familiar in late 2017 when his character joins the royal story on the Netflix series The Crown, as the husband of Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, according to the Inquisitr. Though Lord and Lady Snowdon later divorced, they had a great love story, and added two children to the royal family. Armstrong-Jones was an international photographer who introduced Princess Margaret to the world of Hollywood and rock n’ roll.

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Just after the funeral of the real Lord Snowdon in Wales, it was announced that Matthew Goode, who formerly played Lady Mary Crawley’s love interest, Henry Talbot in Downton Abbey, will play the husband of Princess Margaret in the next episode of the Netflix series, The Crown, says Huffington UK. In the first installment of The Crown, Princess Margaret was told by her sister, Queen Elizabeth, that if she wanted to marry her older, divorced lover, Peter Townsend, she would meet a similar fate as Uncle David did when he abdicated. She would not be able to live in the U.K., and she would be on a tighter allowance.

Matthew Goode will come in at the beginning for season two to play Antony Armstrong-Jones when he comes to the palace to do a royal photo shoot. Armstrong-Jones was a bit of a playboy ladies’ man whose lifestyle is new and different to Princess Margaret. Though Lord and Lady Snowdon became quite the jet set couple, they divorced in 1978. Lord Snowdon continued as a photographer, shooting for Vanity Fair, and other magazines for years.

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Another plus of Matthew Goode for the Netflix series The Crown, is the fact that he is not just a known entity in the U.K. In addition to playing Henry Talbot on the last season of Downton Abbey, Goode was also known for his part on the CBS series, The Good Wife in the United States, says TV Line. Good played lawyer Finn Polmar for two seasons.

But though TV Line says that Matthew Goode might or might not be the one (c’mon, it’s a matter of history, people, not a spoiler), let’s say it’s a safe bet that though Goode might not play Lord Snowdon through the divorce, Antony Armstrong-Jones will be around for a while.

But after season two, there will be a character shift as Claire Foy will only play Queen Elizabeth through season two, and Matt Smith will also be departing his role as Prince Philip.

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Season two will take the Netflix series The Crown through 1964, and though the Princess Margaret romance will play a big role, Queen Elizabeth, various Prime Ministers, and the Suez Crisis will be a bigger deal.

Are you looking forward to seeing a familiar face from Downton Abbey on The Crown?